Australia’s Isaac Thomson has always been destined to fight. The son of a three-time Australian Muay Thai champion, Thomson recollects training with his mother for her fights at a young age, spending hours in the gym alongside her. It wasn’t long until he began to compete himself, making his MMA debut at just 15 years old, winning by TKO in the second round. With his family fully dedicated to supporting his dream of becoming the youngest UFC champion of all time, Isaac moved to Sacramento, California to train with Team Alpha Male.
Shortly after winning his first two professional fights, Thomson signed with the Legacy Fighting Alliance in 2021 at just 19 years old. He faced Dorian Ramos, in Ramos’ home state of Arizona for his promotional debut at LFA 119. This would be the first setback Thomson would face in his MMA career. Ramos showed relentless heart and pressure, and secured the win in the second round. After all the hype for this young prodigy, was it all too much too soon?
Real fighters are not the ones who score the great knockouts, or have the most followers on social media. Real fighters are the ones who face setbacks in both life and their career, yet are able to battle back, recorrect, and fight for their goals. After suffering his first defeat to Ramos, Thomson showcased all of these qualities.
Thomson returned to the LFA cage on January 23rd, 2023, over a year from his last fight. Reinvigorated, Thomson secured a unanimous decision victory against the tough Gary Konkol, who had double the professional experience. This was valuable as it showed Isaac had the heart, cardio, and toughness to win over the distance.
Thomson continued his success, winning by TKO for Idaho’s Front Street Fights promotion, before returning to the LFA cage to take on now UFC fighter, Lerryan Douglas. As of the writing of this piece, Thomson is the last man to defeat Douglas as he has since won five consecutive fights by knockout, securing a UFC contract in the process. In their matchup, Thomson utilizes fantastic kicks, landing a left headkick that knocked down Douglas and led to the finish. This is without a doubt the strongest win on Isaac’s resume, and was the perfect showcase of his sky high potential.
After defeating Colorado scrapper AJ Robb, Thompson faced his second setback as he dropped a split decision to the experienced Shaheen Santana. This time, Isaac shook off the close defeat and got back in the cage just four months later, defeating Israel Delgado by unanimous decision. He followed this by defeating Jeremy Henry at LFA 213, securing the first submission win of his career by rear naked choke in the first round.
Isaac Thomson’s journey leads us here to his first main event on October 3rd at LFA 219. The 8-2 Thomson will be facing 10-1 Uzbekistani Akbarjon Islomboev, potentially his toughest opponent yet. Headlining a card might be considered a career peak for many fighters, this is certainly not a surprise to Thomson, it is more akin to destiny. Born to be a fighter, this is just yet another milestone marker in the Aussies blossoming career. While the opportunity to become the youngest UFC champion may have passed, there is no doubt Isaac Thomson will be a name we hear for years to come.
Watch LFA 219: Thomson vs Islomboev on Friday, October 10th on UFC Fight Pass.